As a type of such application containers, it is well known that the application container comprises a hollow comb having a plurality of teeth with application holes (or discharge holes) for providing an easy application of the hair-dressing agent or the like to user's hair, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,557 for example. A lower portion of the hollow comb is shaped into a mounting cylinder for fitting on the neck portion of its container body.
Besides the comb-carrying application container, it is also known to provide a so-called delamination container for keeping the material at a favorable air tight condition. The delamination container is a laminated bottle consisting of a basic, outer layer and an inner layer which is delaminatable or peelable from the outer layer upon depressurization such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,204.
On the basis of these inventions, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-146260 provides as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of this application, a laminated container 101 consisting of such outer layer 103 and inner layer delaminatable therefrom and having a neck portion, and a hollow comb with a shaft, a lower end portion of which is formed into a cap-like member 102 for fitting on the neck portion of the laminated container. At a bottom portion of the laminated container 101, the outer layer 103 is provided with a small diameter ambient air introduction port 105, such that when the trunk portion of the laminated container is compressed by the user, the liquid in the laminated container is discharged from the teeth of the hollow comb through the interior of its shaft, and when the compression of the trunk portion is released, the outer layer is delaminated from the inner layer to recover its original shape, such that the air is sucked into a space between the inner and outer layers through the ambient air introduction port 105.
In this laminated container, the ambient air introduction port is so small in diameter than its discharge hole as to refrain the air from flowing out therethrough. As a result, when the trunk portion of the laminated container is squeezed for the second time use and thereafter, the air between the inner and outer layers 104, 103 does not escape scarcely from the ambient air introduction hole, so as to ensure an effective compression of the inner layer, only if the user squeezes the laminated container relatively rapidly. On the other hand, this feature means that after the compression of the laminated container is released, it takes some time that the container's outer layer 103 recovers to its original shape, during which the next squeezing operation is unfeasible. Accordingly, the known application container is not suitable for continuous squeezing operation.
Such problem may also be solved, if the laminated container is provided at its desirable portion of the outer layer with a valved ambient air introduction port, i.e. a port having a check valve for refraining unfavorable reverse flow of the air upon compression of the laminated container, such that the ambient air introduction port is formed as a relatively large-diameter hole. As disclosed in Japanese patent Laid-Open No. 2000-41727, such a valved port may be formed at the neck portion of the laminated container and the check valve is provided at a favorable part of the container for shutting off the communication between the ambient air introduction port and the outside of the container upon squeezing its trunk portion. However, since the trunk portion of this container is formed deformable upon squeezing, it has other inconveniences. Firstly, it is difficult to print on the trunk portion, even though it is desired to do so in such a container. Secondly, although the container is also desired to be covered with a shrink from, the film is apt to be wrinkled by squeezing the container.
The aforementioned problems may also arise in another container similar to the previous application container with comb except in that the laminated container having peelable inner layer is replaced by a double container consisting of an inner container compressible upon squeezing and an outer container which is excellent in shape retentivity. The application container is shown in Japanese Laid Open No. 2002-46783 for example.